HOCKEY 101

Bob Gainey did not like what he saw at the end of last year. The team that he had carefully assembled over the past 5 years was falling apart at the sub-atomic level. The spectacle of the Centennial celebrations brought too fine a magnifying glass and resurrected the glory – and the (unfair) expectations – of the past. The pressure cooker blew a gasket.

Now, in its 101st year, the Montreal Canadiens are going back to the basics. The team has a clean slate for the 2009-10 season. With new players, a new headcoach, a new assistant coach, a new goaltending coach, a new strength and conditioning trainer, a new coaching staff in Hamilton, and new ownership – everything is brand-spanking new. Everything that is, except for its fans. And boy, do we need to lighten up.

Jacques Martin is bringing experience to the table and implementing something that the Habs have not seen in a long time: a system.

Puck possession. Fore-check. Support.
Simple hockey. Jacques Martin hockey. Grumble grumble. Hal Gill. AK-46. Grumble grumble. Have we seen Jacques Martin hockey yet? No, not for a full 60-minutes, but there have been glimpses. It’s a work-in-progress.

Martin is keeping the players on a short leash and it’s good to see. The punishing bag skate for a non-existent performance in Vancouver sets an important precedent for this season. Martin has made it clear that players won’t get away with any listless performances. And as Andrei Kostitsyn can attest, you won’t get away with not playing the system. Martin is going to hold each and every player accountable for their actions. If you make a selfish or lazy play, you’ll find your задницу nailed to the bench.

Jacques Martin is trying to create not only a new system but a new ethos in the locker room. He’s trying to build a team. For us fans, however, a new team is hard to accept. Where is the familiarity? Where are our heroes? Many fans, myself included, lament the loss of Alex Kovalev on the powerplay – circling the right faceoff circle, defenders too timid to approach, an opening, a shot, a goal. I watch the powerplay now and what do I see? Chaos.

But give it time. Newbies Mike Cammalleri and Brian Gionta are more than capable of putting up points with the man-advantage. Jaroslav Spacek and Marc-André Bergeron might even make up for losing Markov to injury (almost, maybe). How is the PP going to look exactly? I don’t know. What’s for sure is that what we saw out West won’t be the same powerplay that we’ll be seeing in March.

Give it time.

We’ve got a long season ahead of us and there’s no reason to throw in the towel just yet. We’re not the Leafs. The Habs haven’t even had their home-opener yet and some fans are ready to run the team out of town. As fans, we’re gripping the stick a little too hard.

As the players begin to learn the fundamentals of Martin’s system and get to know each other, we’ll see more goals, better defensive play, and better results.

Are there concerns?

Of course.

Will we have secondary scoring? Where’s AK46? Why can’t he create any opportunities for himself? Is Kyle Chipchura really going to be another 1st round bust? Will the team be able to hold up both offensively and defensively without Markov? And what about Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak?

Big questions that came up during a 5-game road trip. Now give the team some time to answer them. And maybe, let’s give them a little support. Let’s welcome them home on Thursday and give them a reason to be proud that they’re wearing the sweater.

Hockey 101

The Detroit coach didn’t need his lucky McGill neckwear as the Red Wings ran a hockey clinic and stomped the Canadiens 4-1.

The game wasn’t as close as the score would suggest.

Shots were 34-16, and the boos to cheers ratio at the Bell Centre was 21,273-0.

When it was over, the great ageless warrior Chris Chelios, chosen the game’s third star, stood at centre ice and waved as the crowd cheered. It was probably Chelios’s last game at the Bell Centre … until the Stanely Cup final.

Right.

"We can hear it," Christopher Higgins said of the booing, which reached a crescendo in the third period. "Guys get down. It affects us, makes it tougher to play.

"But that’s this city. They expect the best."

Coach Guy Carbonneau wondered why his team could not get pumped up "with 21,000 people screaming and behind us every game.

"We have 41 home games and the fans want uis to win all 41 of them," the coach added. "We made a lot of errors tonight. They had every reason to boo."

Then the coach did a little booing of his own.

When asked if Andrei Markov were injured, Carbonneau suggested "maybe he sees himself at the All-Star game too quick.

Patrice Brisebois said there are highs and lows in a hockey season and the key is "making sure the lows are not too low."

Noting that the early-season Ottawa Senators were compared to the great 1976 Canadiens and "they’ve lost seven in a row", Brisebois said "we know we have a good team. It’s important to have self-confidence but also confidence in each other."

"We haven’t played our best," said Saku Koivu. "I’d like to turn the page. We can’t get these games back, and we have a lot of games to play."

483 Comments

Actually he wasn’t getting many shots and he was playing quality minutes. I believe Carbonneau was the one that pointed that out and he also said that it was a reason for him being demoted.

Ryder may have faced tougher opposition on the first line, but being on the third line allows him to play against weaker opposition. He hasn’t produced much since being assigned to that line.

I wouldn’t say that demoting Ryder has been a terrible move. Latendresse played very well on the first line. In fact he’s played more games on the third or fourth line than Ryder has and he has more goals.

I understand that Ryder has a good penalty differential but that doesn’t always translate into better play. So far this season, he’s been fairly weak, but he’s trying hard and I expect he’ll probably get his spot back on the first line fairly soon.

I think somethings in the works… First Price was hurt, then it was Huet. It supposedly happened in the 1st period, wouldn’t (shouldn’t) he have tightened up in the intermission? I think he’s being shopped, As read online, it’s Gainey’s M.O to disappear a few days before a trade happens, I guess it’s to ponder it a while. I don’t know how he hasn’t pulled off a trade yet. That man’s patience is scary! (Or Maybe I’m a hothead who’s favorite hobby is yelling at zebra’s on ice) All I know is you gotta get when the gettings good! We need to trade value if we expect value in return. Huet is value at a deep position.(At leat it’s what I’m hoping) We are NOT going to win Lord Stanley’s mug this year, (if you disagree, hop on the 401 and become a Toronto Make Beleafs Fan, cause you’re delusional) so let’s build something. Price and the other kids may not be ready RIGHT now; but how does one gain NHL experience and the knowledge of what it takes to be an everyday NHLer if they are never given the chance to succeed? If Julien hadn’t given the kids a chance due to his having coached them and knowing what they can do, where would the Habs be today? (I see a 401 joke in there for the ROC)
Coaches are short sighted. They sign aging has beens or former roomates (Hello Brisebois x 2)instead of giving the kids a chance.

Anybody remember that kid Beauchemin who couldn’t make it on our team cause we were stacked *snicker* with the likes of Rivet, Brisebois, Quintal, Simpson, & Dykhuis. I try to forget everyday too.

Wow great little ceremony. It was great to see the comaraderie among the young and old players and great to see Chelios get a standing ovation. Love him or hate him he is a warrior and is closing in on 25 years. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him reach 30. GO HABS GO!!!

Mike, that was a really uneducated stab at Ryder with the .2 shots per game. He is on pace for more shots this season than last year, therefore he’s contributing shots, and is averaging 3 shots a game.

I don’t mind the constant bashing of Ryder for not scoring, cause he isn’t, but at least be a little respectful by confining the areas of Ryder’s game to bash to a truthful level.

How could a team that deploys a Swiss defenseman as its ‘first line’ RW NOT think about picking up Mark Recchi at the pittance it would cost? He’s had a rough start, and is certainly just about used up, but I can’t remember the last time he didn’t score 20+ goals, and you know you will get all kinds of hustle. 4 pts in 5 playoff games last year. Sergei K clearly isn’t ready yet, and Rechhi is riding out a one-year deal. What’s the harm?

If we can shell Hasek early and get one by him, I think we’ll win. The Habs are great at early pressure (which doesn’t always translate into goals) but if we can crack Hasek early, I think the Wings won’t be able to comeback.

If we fall behind by more than 2 goals in the first half of the game, I’ll go outside and shovel some more because it will be less tedious.

My Dad when he was alive, loved the Red Wings. My Grandfather and I liked the Canadians. My dad would go down to Toe Blake’s Tavern and have a few beers with the players after the game, the stories he’d tell.

“Yeah, with Chipchura and Dandenault as linemates. Ryder isn’t going to get many goals on solo efforts. Good players are better when playing with good players. See Zetterberg/Datsyuk.”

He still gets lots of powerplay time, without much production. It should be a much easier place for him to score goals but he still isn’t putting many in the net. I’m not trying to diss Ryder but he hasn’t played up to expectations and he’s had lots of opportunity to do it.

I don’t disagree with all your comments, but I don’t think Ryder is playing very well if he doesn’t have production numbers to back it up his “good play”.

Detroit passes the puck so much better than us. They have completed at least 20 times more passes than us. Our players just try to get ride of the puck. The only forward who plays in the same level as Detroit is Kovalev. He is the main reason our 2nd line looks OK.

Time to eat Smolinski’s contract and find another RW and go with these lines
Kostitsyn-Plekanec-Kovalev
Higgins-Koivu-??
Latendresse-Chipchura-Ryder

Begin,Lapierre, Kostopoulous, Dandenault and Grabovski can fight for the 4th line spots.

It also time to start riding your supposed skilled players. On most teams with more depth then the Canadiens the skilled players play 20+ a night. We don’t have the depth and talent to play four lines. Seems pretty clear.

kovy is by far our best player. he creates so much space for his linemates. detroit is having no problems with our other lines. look at the boxscore, our fourth line has played almost as much as the wings third line, are we deeper than them. carbo is off his rocker. if detroit only needs to play their fourth line for under two minutes per period, why are ours on the ice for almost four minutes. streit has more ice time than kovy. carbo can’t manage a bench properly.

i agree we should be double shifting kovy’s line, they are the only line that looks dangerous out there. How can koivu’s line even have a chance with a defenceman playing on the wing. I wish i would of gotten the call i can play the off wing with koivu and higgy.

It’s interesting that the Habs look no worse against the Wings than they do against Nashville, Toronto, or Buffalo.

Datsyuk’s goal: Price didn’t look awesome on it, but Begin really blew that clear. And Datsyuk made what seemed like a million fakes, almost like he was waiting for someone to impede him … where was the Cube going on that one?

Be nice to get one on Hasek and see what happens. It’s unfair, but the Habs need their goalies to steal one or two so these guys can get their game back.

If I were in the dressing room, I’m holding a players only meeting, and discuss the issues with having the worst coach in the NHL. If everyone agrees, I go to Gainey, explain how the whole team feels, and ask for a new coach.

The other night I was lamenting about my boy Shelly, nobody on the team to stick up for Captain K like he used to, and at least on the PP you were guaranteed a goal. I got this magazine called “Mobile” in the mail today, put out by Bell Mobility, what’s on the front page, “Sheldon Souray unplugged”. Obviously the article was written before his injury, but I really miss the big guy. For all his giveaways, he did bring something to the table. I wish he was still with us. I wonder where we would stand now.

All I meant to say, is that the Wings are a much stronger team and did not win because of the habs soft play.

They won because they are the better team, they are faster, have better passing and definetely have more skills.

This is why maybe the Habs look like crap, the other team was way to good.

Stupid (and exaggerated!) example, but maybe you will get my point,

Put a pee-wee AA vs a pee-wee CC, if the CC team looses, is it because they did not provide the effort, made turnovers, miss all there pass or all of the above are a result of the other team being better???

You may be right. Not that he has anything to bitch about, but a few of the close ups of Koivu against Nashville on Saturday night left me with the impression he was pretty pissed about who he was centering.

When is the habs brass going to figure out that this team is composed almost exclusively of passable to mediocre guys. You can play with the lines all you want, you can experiment all you want, but in the end, you still have the same group of mediocre players. It really doesn’t matter much who plays with who.

With regard to the comments about trading Koivu, it may just be the year. I would miss him as much as everyone else, but does this man not deserve to be traded to a contender? He’s paid his dues, and he is one of the few players we have that have trade value.

This is not to single out the following player but if the Habs are going to go down at least go down with kids. Bench, trade or release the following players:

1) Smolinski….adds another 11 minutes to his impressive total of even strength ice time with out a goal.( I don’t count his empty netter)

2)Dandenault…love he comes to Koivu’s aid but let’s get serious, the experiment is a failure. His production and his cap number don’t mesh. $1.75m for a 4th line player is not a wise investment. He might have some trade value as a depth defenseman, not as a 4th line player

3)Brisebois….That Gorges,Bouillon and Streit can’t take his job is either because Breezer has pictures of Carbo that would make a hooker blush or the three of them actually suck. Not to mention what it says to the players on the farm.

4)Streit is a PP specialist and that is it. He actually is very good on the PP but Carbo is asking him to do to much. He can fill in on the 4th line, he can play on defense some but he is not a regular in the NHL, not now, not ever. Actually don’t release him just use him like he should be used.

5)Ryder needs to go because he seems to be Carbo’s favorite whipping boy and it is not fair. His play is not up to par this year but he is not the only one. In fact, most of the team falls in this category except for Kovalev and a few others.

That’s why shitty teams can win, that’s why Lemaire invented the trap, the zone defense, the prevent the attacks from the more skilled players…
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CH if for Chris Higgins

Unfort for the habs, the game turned on a missed 5 minute major and several more infractions including a few trips/obstruction and high sticks. Habs are not managing to create themselves any breaks, while their opponents get plenty.

Lilja should get suspended for 2-5 games, but more then likely won’t because Begin is not a pussy like most of the recent players injured on marginal/high hits and wasn’t seriously hurt.

I wonder if Carbo will be canned or asked to resign so that both Gainey and him can save some face. For once I’d love to have a coach that has some NHL coaching experience! Problem is I don’t think you’ll get anyone to take the job.

I have a feeling that Koivu might be traded if they are well out of it. He made it clear that he doesn’t want to be part of a rebuilding process anymore and it’s clear this team is still rebuilding.

Ryder is as good as gone but no one is going to give anything up for him.

I came up with the idea to alternate the rest of the season for letting the players create the lineup… Every stick will be put into a pile at centre ice (including the 2 goalies). Then 1 player will be blindfolded and brought to centre ice. He will grab and throw the sticks in groups of 3 and 2, and the last 2 sticks taken out will be the 2 goalies. The 4 groups of 3 will be our four forward lines, the groups of 2 will be the defence, the last 2 will be the goalies, and the 2 remaining sticks will be the 2 guys that get to sit in the press box for the game.

How could goaltending cost us the game when we were out shot 34-16. We had only 1 goal, so in order to win Price would have had to stop all 34 shots. It’s not fair to say that goaltending cost us the game. If a team can only get 16 shots, they are going to need an unbelievable goalie to get a win. That goalie does not exist.

The problem our goaltenders have is that have to be god damn perfect given that there are at best three forwards on the team who possess a set of hands. That’s a pretty tall order. In ’93, Saint Patrick could keep them in in OT, but someone had to score a goal to win.

Is it just me or did anyone else notice that Higgins looked less than thrilled that he tied the game? He seemed to have that same kind of reaction a player has when he scores late if the 3rd period while loosing by 5.

There is something wrong with this team. OK, Huet is out, but it’s not like they have suffered a string of crippling injuries or the dreaded flu bug has bit. I think some of Carbo’s post-game comments may have provided some big pieces to the puzzel.

New York has had silly amounts of money, and had one of the best teams in baseball history in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, and still they haven’t won it since 2001 (Marlins won in 2003). Boston also: $ and an unbelievable team.
I’m not saying it’s ONLY the city, but the fact that, as everyone is very quick to point out, we lack some depth makes the pressure of playing in Montreal a bigger factor.
(England is football crazy across the board.)

First goal was 5-hole (surprise surprise Plek-Andrew is right again)
one of them was screened
two of them were huet-like goals, wristers that coulda been stopped. Price was on his knees too early and didn’t come out to challenge the shooter enough. Especially for someone that size, he knows better than to stay in his net.

No, they don’t. But to be really successful year in and year out, the management of the team has to HATE to lose as much as the players. People down here in NYC love to rag on the Yankees’ owner Steinbrenner, but the guy really gives a shit and that’s why they’re in the hunt every season.

Zetterberg wide open in the slot puts one up under the crossbar from 15-20 feet and you are calling it a soft goal? 3rd goal deflected off of Ryders stick, Breezer’s hand and Franzen’s arm while Price can’t see where the shot came from because the are 3 people in front of him and that’s a soft goal? Datsyuks shot for the 2nd goal was top far corner. Plek-Andrew is definately wrong.

Carbo has once again passed the buck!!! His coaching is jr. A level at best! What is this guy thinking? How will his players ever respect him and play for him when he berates them publicly? Heads NEED to roll… actually only one head!

Carbo’s comment about Markov looking ahead to the All Star Game just broke the needle and glass on my shithead meter. Thank God he didn’t go into chemistry. He would have almost certainly mixed bleach and ammonia in search of a more potent cleanser.

The tragic irony of the Canadiens: Montreal might be the most hockey-crazy town in the world, and that is precisely what makes it so difficult for them to put together a good season. I agree that the Habs don’t have the most talent of any team in the league, but you have to admit that, on paper, they have a potentially exciting mix of promising young players and veteran leadership. Just think if they played in California, or South Carolina, or Florida, where no one even knew the coach’s name, much less if the team had lost 3 straight or 12 straight or whatever. It would be so much easier to see the big picture: it’s an 82-game season, and you’re gonna lose a few on the way. Instead, if they lose more than one-in-a-row, it’s fire this one, trade that one, yadda yadda yadda. These players have a big psychological and emotional challenge that doesn’t exist for a lot of other teams in the NHL, which makes their lack of a star-studded line-up a much bigger problem.
Love the Habs, and would love to see them turn it around. Go Habs Go!
-nn1

I hope you didn’t fall down a flight of stairs….. because when you blame the goalie for a pathetic TEAM loss…. like the one tonight…… I worry about you…… maybe you are sooo excited that you went to the game that you forgot this is a TEAM sport…….

I agree, but, and this is a stretch, people thought Therrien would be fired after the way he ranted about his d-men a couple of years ago. The Pens pulled through and the next season he was a finalist for the Adams trophy. It is not too likely here though…

I agree… The team has obviously lost respect for him. Latendresse has been scrated, Begin and Kostopoulos have been scratched, but our 2 worst forwards in Smolinski and Ryder continue to get more ice time than players who deserve it…

And on Defense, Gorges keeps playing better and better, yet Breeze-by, Streit and Bouillon continue to get more ice time…

Hard to see those comments from Carbonneau, especially the ones about Markov and Price. Might be time for Gainey to have a chat with him and set him straight as to what he can and cannot say to the press, because thats bad.

I thought the Canadiens got beat by a very good team tonight. However, there were some costly errors that didn’t need to be made, specifically by Stevie B (whom I love) and Mark Streit who simply should not be on the top line. It’s unfair to both him and his linemates. It might be time to simply put Ryder back on that line. Of course, Kovalev would look dynamite there as well.

Whatever they do, I hope they don’t put Ryder back on the 1st line. His time is up! See ya! If anything, put Koivu with Kovy and Kostitsyn if you want some production. I feel bad for Streit playing forward. Poor coaching is the #1 cause of many of Habs’ woes. Lack of talent ranks high on the troubleshooting list, too.

I think Higgy is playing through an injury. I’m sure he was nursing an injury at the end of the Preds game on Saturday night. The guy wears his heart on his sleeve. You can tell by his emotions that this funk the team is in is just killing him. B.G., pls. come to the rescue soon!

I agree with the left side cheat, plus he plays too deep and has a slow glove hand and poor lateral movement. In other words, he needs more time to develop into a great goalie at this level. But, can I blame Price for the loss? NO.

True. Anyone with any hockey sense knows that this was not Price’s game to lose. 16 shots on Hasek will not win a game. And, Detroit has a potent offense with loads of talent, which is why they are #1 in the league and will place in the top 5 by the end of the regular season. AND, Mike Babcock is a superior coach to Carbo. Habs didn’t have the talent or the coaching to win tonight.

Pleks….. u disappoint me……. I thought u were smarter than that….. the kid is twenty years old… and u expect him to carry this gang of bums on his back….. even Roy had a decent team in front of him…. you need to check into the general hospital for a complete check up man…. if you really want to know the truth from an expert….. I’ll give it to you…. Carbonneau is a weak coach….. everyone can see that….. except you of course…. how can a team be so good and then fall apart every year… I’ll tell you how it happens…. when you have a pig headed coach who points out specific players every time the waves get a little bumpy…. thats how…. Carbonneau needs to stick up for his players when the chips are down…. not make a public spectacle of them…. its just a matter of time before Kovalev tanks his game too….. It really makes me sick that Gainey stands behind this guy…. a great player but DEFINITELY not coach material….. I have been saying from last year that with the right coach this team would do wonders….. shake the NHL….. tonight, after he pointed out Price as the guilty party for the loss…. sickening…. what a loser…… like it has been said here before Carbonneau should take a look in the mirror…. and stop calling JoJo Savard for advice on the line up…..

I’m not necessarily disagreeing with you, I’m just saying that it is harder to play in Montreal than in, say, the Southern U.S. I mean, am I crazy, or do many players in the NHL *not* want to play in Montreal precisely because it means being under the microscope at all times?
Management troubles aside, I think the “fragile between the ears” syndrome might not be so pronounced if this same team had the luxury of playing where nobody cared.
PS: pink glasses?

my thoughts on why this team is doomed to fail with Carbo-nono as coach:

We are playing a broken system. It is the same system he played in Dallas with… It worked in Dallas because they had the goaltending, check, they had the defence, check, they had Modano and Hull, we have Koivu and Kovalev. The system relies on playing solid defense, and then capitalizing on scoring chances when the other team makes a mistake. Modano had 81 points in 77 games, including 34 goals, and Hull had 58 points in 60 games, including 32 goals. Nobody on this team is capable of what those 2 were doing that season….

They also had 28 goals from Nieuwendyk who had 55 points in 67 games, 20 goals from Lethinen (who also won the Selke that year). 99 points from Sydor and Zubov and a goaltending tandem of Belfour and Turek.

So we are playing the same system as that team. Lets compare:

They had 2 30+ goal scorers and another player that scored 28, we have 2 30 goal scorers in Kovalev and Ryder. Kovalev is no Modano and Ryder is no Hull. Smolinski is also no Lethinen.

Markov, Hamrlik and Komisarek isn’t that different from Zubov, Sydor and Hatcher. And goaltending is very comparable in that both teams had a #1 goalie, and an eager young goalie looking to break out and become the #1.

The difference between the 2 teams is that we don’t have the selke winner, and we can’t score the way that team did. This system only works when you can limit the opposition’s scoring chances (helps when you have a Selke winner) and can score on the few scoring chances your team gets from sitting back and waiting for the other team to make a mistake. We don’t have a Modano or Hull… The system is bound to fail, and Carbonneau doesn’t realize this considering he stuck with the system even though it obviously didn’t work last year.

Habs don’t have any player of Datsyuk or Zetterberg level…and i have’nt heard Timmins say that he’s been hiding that kind of talent in the farm club !!!

THIS JUST IN… 21 000 people witness a beating they’re only reaction we’re Boo’s and Choo’s, first reports are telling us that those 21 000 peoples we’re also robbed of at least a hundred bucks in the process !!!

Ryder looks so bad on the ice BG will get less then Ninnima for him.

Mark streit needs to stop giving the puck away. Price has given up 8 goals in last 2, but was only given 1 goal by is teamates in the 120 minutes process witch makes it hard to win !!!

I just watched the game on my DVR. We were totally outworked and played completely uninspired hockey, even though Mr Beliveau, Mr Howe, and others were in attendance.

The team requires fundamental changes. With respect to the lineup, Smoke, Brisebois, and Gorges should sit. Lapierre, Grabovski, and O’Byrne should play.

With respect to the lines, we cannot have two defensemen playing on the forward lines when we are struggling to score 5-on-5. Imagine if we had Desjardines playing with Muller and Bellows – it would be ridiculous. Each line should have a defined role (scoring, checking, or energy). Our lines are completely jumbled and nonsensical at this point.

Higgins-Pleks-Kovalev (played very well against Nashville)
Lats-Koivu-Ryder (played well last year when Higgy was hurt)
Begin-Chipchura-Dandy (checking line)
Kostitsyn-Grabovski-Lapierre (energy/speed)

Markov-Komi
Hamr-O’Byrne
Cube-Streit

Right now we don’t have any players (aside from Komi) who could really respond to the hit from Lilja. Perhaps Lapierre and O’Byrne can improve our aggressiveness and toughness, especially in front of the net.

It’s time to cut the deadweight and inject players into the lineup who will be willing to skate hard and drop their bodies down to block shots. The Habs are a far cry from Carbo’s days when Carbo, Keane, Brunet, and others would drop down in a heartbeat to prevent the puck from getting to Roy.

I like what you say a lot, but isn’t there also an issue of confidence here? We have seen what players like Koivu, Kovalev, even Higgins and Ryder are capable of when they’re playing well, and we also know all-too-well what it looks like when Kovalev loses the puck on every possession and Ryder can’t put the puck in the net to save his life. The point is, though there may not be anything approaching a Modano or a Hull in Montreal, this team, when playing up to its potential, is *certainly* capable of being a playoff team, even under Carbo.
But the way they’ve been playing lately, not a chance. There’s a problem here that is not simply lack of talent, though there is no doubt that poor coaching exacerbates the problem.

The team definately has the talent to make the playoffs. I figure they have the talent to finish somewhere in the 4-6 range in the east. The problem is that the players don’t match the system. Another thing that helps with the trap is having a lot of size, you don’t need speed to trap, you need size and the ability to capitalize on your few chances.

The Canadiens are one of the fastest teams in the league, yet you almost never see them use it. If we were playing a system similar to Buffalo, that used our greatest asset, our speed, we’d be getting a lot of odd man rushes and scoring a lot more goals. This particular team will never succeed in any kind of trap, especially once as flawed as this. This team needs to play an offense and speed game.

You’re the first person that I’ve ever heard say that Price has poor lateral movement. Believe me, if he can see the puck, and thus where he needs to move to, the guy is killer quick. Same goes for his glove.
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I’d really be curious to find out what the writers here think of all this Carbo bashing. I’ve done a bit of it myself, quite a bit of late, but I have so much respect for Carbo the player that I keep reminding myself to just let him do his job and see what happens. That man has laid down his body in front of slapshots so many times for this team that I’m inclined to give Carbo the Coach a measure of trust. It’s just so frustrating as a fan to watch a team appear to flounder from on high, with confusing line changes, benchings that seem to punish hard work and bad luck, no aggressivity, no net crashing, no forecheck, no trap, no help for our goalies. But are we just latching on to Carbo because he’s an easy target?

Carbonneau to go, that was the crappest most embarrassing 2 and half hours I have spent in a long time. This is Montreal for crying out load, not nashville, pull your fingers out and play some hockey. The players need direction and at the moment Carbo’s lost it.

it’s pretty easy to point the finger at the coach, we’ve been dooing that for a long time in MTL and it never proved effective, SSDD. Sadly, in view of the last 7 years, if i was bob hartley, i’ keep my cell phone open !!! easier to change a coach then a first line.

BTW, I got a dirty quater carbo makes those guys skate so hard today… giving them a reason to complain !!! 90 minutes no pucks

I personally think it migth be time for BG to give Carbo something to work with !!! trade, treahten, call up, pillage, murder, anyTHING !!!

am i the only one wishing this league did’nt have a salary cap !!! cos i’d rather complain about a player salary then complain about a loosing team with a pee wee attitude

Bob Hartley – got real lucky in Colorado and hasn’t don’t anything since. Was a total disaster in Atlanta. Dump the puck in and chase it. Throw in a little gooning as well. This man is totally out of whack with the new NHL game. The only thing he has going for him is he speaks French. Bring him to Montreal and you will really have something to cry about.

Let me get this straight: we score one goal on 16 shots with perhaps all of one scoring chance in the whole 3rd period and you’re saying goaltending cost us a victory? So you expected Price to shut out this Detroit team and stop all 34 shots?

This is the second night goaltending has cost us a victory. I was at the game and yes, we looked horrible out there but so did the refs. the refing was as atrocious as it gets, Price has let in weak goals again but hasek did make some huge saves.

Pleky had some huge chances but he was robbed by Hasek a few times. Kovalev coughed up the puck way too many times… shades of last year?

I’m not abandoning ship but something has to give, and quickly.

I don’t see any positives here except that Gorges played the game of his young career so far. Looked fantastic out there. Really, he and Pleks were the only good players out there. Made 0 mistakes.

We’re getting outplayed badly every game it seems. When we had the Xmas swoon last year it was the same thing. Why can’t this team come out of the gates flying? What are the coaches saying to them in the room that gets them on their heels to start the game or period?

I can’t believe that after tonight’s game Markov is -10, and Hamrlik is +10. What has the coaching staff done to so drastically change Markov’s game? Also how can 2 players be so different in the +/- category after only 27 games?

I didn’t see the first goal so I can’t comment on it, but the 2nd goal Price was screened and it was a perfect shot (good enough for TSN to have it as a HON candidate) and the 3rd goal Price had no chance with a wall in front of him preventing him from seeing the puck, and Ryder deflecting the puck…

(on a side note though, Price is playing a little differently than he was at the beginning of the season, going down a lot earlier. I hope this isn’t Melanson changing his style :S)

Carbo never wanted Price on the team, he will likely do what he can to try to get Halak in nets so that if Halak wins he can be like “see I told you Halak was the better goalie”

I didn’t see the first goal, the 2nd goal was a perfect shot on a screened Price, the 3rd one Price had a wall in front of him, and Ryder deflected it, and the 4th, well the game was already over…

Carbonneau is the worst coach in the NHL, ranks right up there in worst ever with Tremblay. He’s criticizing our best defenceman, our goaltending which isn’t the problem, everyone but himself, because that arrogant fool actually thinks he’s doing a good job…

We need to fire Carbonneau and nothing else will change things. Bring in both Vinny and Crosby and we’d still be losing with this fool as our coach…

I remember a former coach who wanted to replace Theodore with Huet, but Gainey did not like the idea, so he fired the coach & took over the job himself. However, that coach was not originally hired by Gainey, and eventually Huet did replace Theodore. I’m not sure what my rant has to do with the current situation, except to show that Gainey will act if he feels he has to.

you have to place most blame on carbo. it is up to the coach to put his players in the best possible position to succeed. don’t think streit said to carbo, hey put me on the first line. carbs put streit in a position to fail. same thing with breezer. how many minutes does he play a game. again, that is carbo. lets put a mucker on every line, effectively killing all the units. again carbo

Simple game of work forces errors, first Begin makes a perfect pass for there 1st goal, next Streit gives it up for there 2nd,and so on, and so on, shots on goal 3 to 1. Well next game maybe, goodnight all!!!!!

if the devils can not like what they saw last year with julien and canned him right before the playoffs, why can’t the habs realize that carbo can’t coach when things are going bad. get rid of him. for crying out loud, next we’ll see a first unit of begin, dandy and kovy.

Well, he’s one of the only Habs with a point tonight, as indeed, on most nights. He’s playing with emotion and is obviously frustrated … not like he’s got Datsyuk on his wing. For pity’s sake, what do you want from him?

I know,it sucks yeats. Were not having very much fun with this squad right now. But i wonder if just like the stock market, we stop looking at our portfolio for 6 mo. or a year and maybe get a surprise.

This is starting to get stressfull,at what point if we keep playing like this, do we loose one of our CUPS!!

OK, let’s trot our all the usual post-game cliche crap.
We have to play for the full 60 minutes.
We have to keep our intensity level up.
We have to shoot more.
We have to pass more.
We have to skate more.
Next game will say alot about this team.
Have to shorten our shifts.
Have to shorten the bench.
Have to make plays.
Have to stop plays.
Have to make sure opposing shots don’t hit us in the ass and go in.
Got to stick to the system.
Maybe need a new system.
We’re fragile mentally right now.
We’re fragile physically now.
We don’t know what is going on
Carbo doesn’t know what is going on.
Does Gainey know what is going on.
Just attribute the above to any player of your choice and you article is finished.

Heres a i’ve had one too many thought / rant:
I propose – that in an order to keep the home teams spirits higher when their playing on home ice… We pass the word around; internet, media, word of mouth whatever… that when the Habs are playing on home ice and we have the puck the crowd is cheering. always. period. I mean lets face it, we love our hockey, and we all want the home team to win so why clip them off at the knees by booing at OUR effin TEAM at home louder then anywhere else?! It’s suppose the be an advantage playing on home ice isn’t it?

If Michael Ryder is such a great player and performing well as someone stated earlier on here, how come he can’t score on the freakin powerplay? He’s had more time on there than Kovalev. He continues to get time on there, despite being pushed of the top line. Has he lost his chemistry with Higgins and Koivu?

Ian: I worked for over 25 years on Wall Street and I’ll tell you it hasn’t been a bear market since ’93. It’s been the Habs equivalent of The Great Depression. We either need FDR or a war to get us out of the mess we’re in.

Yeah Let’s trade Price right away, you guys are right…why not, he totally lost is cool, its the downfall for him…
always on his knees, no reflex, no skill really,… what did we se in him a week ago that wanted us all to trade Huet..

Trade him now that he still has some value…
Trade KOivu, Ryder, Kovalev, for picks, lets goo… why not…and Markov could get us a 1st rounder, put him in too!

listen i like carbo, just not the way he talks crap about his players to the media. it’s not like it’s scotty bowman talking about his players negatively in the media. he was an excellent player, but he’s still must earn his stripes as a coach

Did Mike call this a work in progress? haha what a joke.
One line we have that can touch the puck around is the kovy pleks and kostitsyn line however man is it frustrating watching this skating around in circles with no shot or a shot from far out PEREMITER PLAY!
I found it funny listening to Trevor Timmins when asked why he didnt just go with all quebeckers in the later rounds of the draft not that i agree with doing this, but when he responded he talked about mikail Grabovski Jaro Halak and others he had picked yah ok bud…..Detroit in later rounds Holmstrom Datsyuk, Lidstrom, Zetterberg and we get Grabovski and Halak YEH!!!!

Well, officially, Gainey has said all along that his objective was to have the Habs be competitive by 2009. At the time he said that, things were so bad that most people agreed that would be fine. We’re not there yet. Of course, 2009 is only 13 months away, and well … maybe he meant by 2009/2010? I can’t remember.

Well bob needs to make a statement i think most of us have come to that realization. Something needs to happen some sort of shake up and bob has to prove that he wants to be a contender this season because we have 2 key players that are ufa after next season and they won’t stick around if we are not contenders. kovy an koivu

as much as i’d like to believe something big is going to happen, I don’t see it. Last years deadline had us all hoping for a big tade and Bob didn’t really do anything. Instead we got the “come together” message. I thnk this may be another one of those moments… unfortunately.

Watched Chelios during the 2nd intermission…too bad we got rid of that guy. He’s gained wisdom, class and longevity (no sh*t!) during his years with the Wings. Nice the fans cheered him for a change….could be his final go round in the phone booth!

Guy’s in better shape than most of the 20 year olds in the league…check out this article I read in BestLife magazine last year…

Hey why don’t we trade Ryder or drop him.The guy is being treated like a lap dog.He probably would be treated better with another team.Brisebois caused that last goal period.Ryder’s stick caused the deflection but look at lousy pass Brisebois made in his own end. Also I have seen more lame back passes to last me a life time.

These guy’s just aren’t good enough to beat the Wings and it is very painful to watch right now. How can Streit make a pass like that? How? Confidence has to be rock bottom right now as they are not playing at the same level they played with in October.

I think he has more ice time because Carbonneau has used him both up front, and on the point during the power play. Not that I agree with it, but I think that is why his time is so high. I could see Kovalev on the point, and up front, but not Streit.

Listen to the boos! Now that’s uncalled for. This is clearly the best team in the NHL. My questions: Can we trade Trevor Timmins for one of their scouts? Has Mike Babcock always been a coaching genius? When will we ever see a Montreal Canadiens this good?

Mike Babcock a coaching genius??? My dog could coach that team… It’s a lot like Colorado when Hartley was there; when you have Sakic, Bourque, Blake, Foote, and Roy on the ice, you don’t coach so much as observe…

Agreed. All we have to do is look at the top players on other teams. Their coaches are not resting them for future games by constantly rolling 4 lines. Top athletes love to play extra minutes, plus their production usually increases with increased ice time.

Mike, I think BG was waiting for you to say no way on Recchi before deciding to pick him up. Anything to make your predictions fail.
Watch it happen and be hailed as a bad move then a good move then a bad move again (à la smokes, and breeze-by).
I wished it doesnt happen, though.

It’s true maybe Shmo needs time off too but I think Tom “Le Bombe” has earned his rest. A big part of his job is to bring the energy and hit people and the last 5 games he has almost one hit per game. Maybe he is getting tired. Thank you.

Imagine for a minute how lonely Kovy must feel out there with guys like Begin, Smolinski et al with him. No one in position, no one even close to telepathic like most of his linemates were on other teams…pathetic…..

Higgy can’t score alone! No one on this team can do anything alone. Even the goalies.

The Habs need to take time tomorrow to re-group. Play as a team, think as a team first, actually. And then we won’t seen any of those crappy plays and the goalie won’t have to be the first star every night.

Price is net is a good start, just need the team,(key word is TEAM)to bring their ‘A’ game tonight. Looking forward to this battle and seeing how Datsyk/Zetterburg respond to the challenge, let alone our humble Habs. I say shoot pass kick Detroits’ ASS!!!

Come on Mike. You know that Ryder is averaging more than .2 shots per game. He is averaging 2.85. Now if only he could average .2 goals per game. That would give him 5. Still not much better than what he has.

How do people feel about Scott Nichol’s dirty hit on Patrice Brisebois. The 5 game suspension is more than warranted. Look at Bergeron of Boston, who might not play again this year. Randy Jones got off with only a 2 game suspension. Hits to the head, and hits from behind should not be allowed. Brisebois had a comment on Nichol’s suspension.

carbo is off his rocker. why does he have patience with a guy like smolinksi, yet absolutely none with samsonov from last year. smolinski can take dumb penalties, and he’s still on the ice at the end of the game. does anybody else see a problem with having two defensemen as forwards? what a joke. then we complain about five on five scoring.
i would rather have a kid up, not lapierre (too many lapierre type players on this team), plug him into the line up and let him loose. can’t be worse than smolinski. as for gorges, what does he have to do to stay in the lineup. brisebois gives the puck away, costs us goals, yet he plays.
i don’t know why i just don’t like carbo as a coach for this team. there’s something about his smug look that he has when talking to the media.

Tom the Bomb should be in the lineup. They probably won’t need to fight anyone in the Detroit lineup, but he brings a lot of energy and is very good with blocking shots and laying hits. I’m not sure what Smolinski’s deal is lately, but he’s been pretty brutal.

I hope that Lats has another good game. The team needs a big game from the “number 1″ line. Kovy’s line will be fine as usual. Hasek hasn’t been very good this year. However, getting around his defense may be another story…

I forgot. I love seeing Josh Gorges in the lineup. I think he should be a regular. He’s better than the Breeze and as a relatively young player (especially as a D-man) has room to improve in the future. Besides that, he comes from good stock. He’s captained a Memorial Cup team and he’s willing to stick up for his netminder.

I don’t like seeing Streit at forward. Dandenault seems pretty comfortable there and since he used to be a pretty decent forward in junior, I don’t have a problem him playing the wing. He throws some good hits and he’s played very well this season, in my opinion. Streit should be playing defense though, and Kostopoulos should be in the lineup.

The criticism that I’ve always had of our current D is that there is no one who makes opposing forwards think twice about crossing our blue line, with maybe the exception of Komisarek. I mean they might strip you of the puck, but sans #8, none of these guys is going to punish you. We need a few Craig Ludwig types back there.

To me its like the saying goes “you are only as strong as your weakest link” for example the first line Streit? enough said. Hamrlik playing with brisebois when he had phaneuf as a partner. Brisebois should be the one playing once every 2 weeks, not gorges. We have 3 good dmen and 3 weak dmen. We only have one threatening line offensivly cause we have no one who can play with koivu and higgy and hence we are an easy team to shut down. I don’t know, i’m just ranting here.

We have to get shots on Hasek (as I’m sure others have mentioned, his save percentage is very un-Hasek-like this year). However, we can’t get shots without the puck, which means we have to win some faceoffs – Detroit is a great puck-possession team that won’t surrender the puck with ease.

I think the lesson from tonight’s game is that we are faaaaaaaaaaaar from only needing a forward to compete for the Cup. So I hope we don’t trade for a rental. If we make a trade, make it for a keeper.

I think one of two things will happen soon:

1) Koivu will be traded to a contender. Koivu is one of our few trade commodities.

2) Carbo will be sacked

They might try #2 first to see if this shakes things up but I think there’s a reasonable probability you’ll see both.